Chapter 8: Three Days’ Time

A Plot of Land?

Jing Xi lowered her head and pondered for a moment. “How big is the area? And where is it located?”

Xie Aiguo turned to Wu Jun. “Isn’t the wasteland in front of Xiaojing’s house about an acre? No one is farming that land. Can we allocate it to Xiaojing?”

Wu Jun looked down, then glanced sideways at Zhang Qiang.

That piece of land was originally what he had his eye on. He had already planned to grow Dihuang there, and with an acre of yield, he could earn a few hundred yuan. If it were given to Jing Xi, wouldn’t that mean he would lose out on those few hundred yuan?

After all, everyone in the village was counting on Dihuang to get rich. Who wouldn’t want an extra acre of land to farm?

“It’s possible, but—”

Xie Aiguo shot him a glare. “No buts. It’s settled. Xiaojing, we’ll take care of the paperwork in a few days, and the land will be yours.”

Jing Xi remained silent. “I’ll think about it.”

Just as they finished speaking, the Long family started urging them from the front.

The group quickly dragged Zhang Qiang away to his house.

Not long after, the cars parked inside and outside the courtyard drove off.

Now, only Jing Xi and Aunt Liu were left in the kitchen.

Aunt Liu looked at Jing Xi’s tear-streaked face and sighed. “Such a hard life you’ve had, child. Even if you report this to the authorities, I’ll stand as your witness! That Zhang family has gone too far! I’ve never liked Zhang Qiang, and his wife is no saint either. They’ve taken advantage of the village countless times. Honestly, I suspect all those homesteads they own weren’t acquired through proper means!”

Hearing Aunt Liu’s words, Jing Xi realized that Aunt Liu was siding with her not just out of kindness—she already harbored a deep dislike for the Zhang family.

Perhaps there was some personal grudge between their families as well.

Jing Xi forced herself to stay strong. “It’s okay, Auntie. I’m used to it. I’ve been through a lot over the years. But thank you for today. If you hadn’t been here, I really wouldn’t have known what to do.”

Aunt Liu comforted her while pulling her out the door. “I’ll walk you home first. I know you’re tired and hungry. No matter what happens, we should at least fill our stomachs before dealing with anything else.”

Right on cue, Jing Xi’s stomach rumbled.

Aunt Liu picked up a small basket filled with food and escorted her home.

The two had lunch together in Jing Xi’s small house. Afterward, Aunt Liu decided to check on the delivery situation at Zhang’s house.

Jing Xi was also curious but didn’t follow her right away.

Instead, after Aunt Liu left, she quietly sneaked after her.

As she approached the entrance of Zhang’s alley, she heard arguing from inside.

Listening carefully, she was surprised to learn that the Long family was dissatisfied with the quality of the Dihuang this time. They wanted to sort through the batch before accepting it.

They rejected anything that was damaged, too small, or covered in too much dirt. They only wanted clean and evenly sized pieces.

This left everyone in shock.

“Wait a minute, Mr. Xiao, look, we villagers rely on this to make a living. If you don’t buy them, we have no way to sell the leftovers! And with so much Dihuang, if we have to sort through it, it’ll take us days! The workload is just too much!”

“Exactly! Mr. Xiao, we depend on the weather for our crops. This year’s harvest wasn’t as good as last year’s due to climate conditions. But whether it’s used as medicine or food, once it’s cleaned, it tastes the same. The only difference is the size!”

Everyone spoke at once, their voices filling the courtyard with noise.

Jing Xi was too curious. She climbed onto the wall using her spatial ability and stood in the corridor inside, watching the commotion unfold in the courtyard.

More than twenty people were gathered inside, with the Long family inspecting the goods.

The man leading the group was apparently Mr. Xiao. He looked around twenty-five or twenty-six, tall and well-featured.

Clearing his throat, he spoke up. “Everyone, calm down and let me finish.”

“Last year’s batch was excellent—large, plump, and with minimal damage.”

“As for the size, I understand what you’re saying. The flavor may be the same, but we can’t just take everything. Think about it—when you go to the market to buy fruit, don’t you choose the ones that are evenly sized and look good? The same logic applies to Dihuang.”

“Just because last year’s batch was mostly high quality doesn’t mean it was perfect. We still had to sort out a lot of defective ones back then.”

“But look at this year’s batch! Not only is there more damage, but they haven’t even been dried properly. A lot of them are still covered in dirt!”

As he finished speaking, Mr. Xiao gestured to a young man beside him. The assistant randomly grabbed a handful of Dihuang and spread them out on a table. It turned out that only about a third of them were of good quality.

Jing Xi examined the Dihuang—she had already checked them the night before, so she had a rough idea of their quality.

It seemed like the Long family planned to resell the Dihuang.

If there were too many defective pieces, they wouldn’t be able to sell them for a good price, meaning they would have to absorb the losses themselves.

Mr. Xiao’s actions left the villagers exchanging uncertain glances, unsure of what to say.

The atmosphere turned awkwardly silent.

Farming was tough, but buyers had their own standards to uphold.

There was no perfect solution.

As the village leader, Xie Aiguo had to step in to resolve the situation.

He pulled Mr. Xiao aside and spoke in a hushed voice, so only the two of them could hear.

“Mr. Xiao, let’s talk this over. Our entire village relies on this crop to get by. We have elderly folks and children at home to support. If you refuse to buy, what are we supposed to do with all of this?”

“How about this—I’ll discuss it with the villagers, and we can lower the price. You’ve already paid an advance deposit, right? We can refund part of it to you.”

Xiao Jie looked at Xie Aiguo and smiled faintly. “You have your difficulties, but so do I. I’m just a middleman; I don’t have the authority to make this decision. Here’s the deal—either you sort through them and we take the good ones, or we don’t take any at all and leave with an empty truck.”

Xie Aiguo grew anxious.

If they didn’t take the batch, that would be a huge embarrassment for him!

“Come on, Mr. Xiao, is there really no room for negotiation?”

Xiao Jie shook his head. “The higher-ups have given clear instructions. If I take this batch back, I’ll lose my job tomorrow. I have a family to support too—elders, younger siblings still in school—my entire family depends on me.”

Xie Aiguo sighed.

He turned around and called Wu Jun, along with members of the Zhang and Liu families, to discuss the matter.

Standing outside the courtyard, Xiao Jie could faintly hear people inside cursing him under their breath.

The voices were low, afraid that he might hear them, but he heard them nonetheless.

What was the point? They could accept slightly uneven sizes, but damaged ones? How careless could they be during the harvest? Did they think the Long family was made of money?

Besides, the Dihuang they purchased was to be delivered to Miss Ling’s factory in Beijing.

If the quality issues tarnished Miss Ling’s reputation, there wouldn’t even be a need for Master Si to step in—Yu Erge alone would personally deal with them.

The villagers deliberated for about half an hour and finally agreed to sort the batch. However, they insisted that the Long family should also take the smaller, undamaged ones.

Xiao Jie agreed.

He gave them three days to sort everything. Meanwhile, he and his team would wait in town and return to collect the goods after the deadline.

Once Xiao Jie and his men drove away, Zhang’s courtyard erupted in a barrage of curses.

Zhang Qiang’s wife, Wang Cuihua, was the loudest of them all, as their family had planted the most Dihuang, and also had the highest percentage of damaged crops.

She had assumed that the Long family would buy everything, regardless of quality, so she hadn’t taken any precautions during the harvest.

After all, she had done her research—there weren’t many places growing Dihuang in the first place. Back when they first planted an acre, they couldn’t even find a buyer and had almost sold it at a low price to a medicinal herb processing factory. Who would’ve thought that the Long family would suddenly start purchasing Dihuang in large quantities—at an unbelievably high price, no less?

That unexpected windfall was what had allowed her family to become one of the wealthiest in the village.

Now, she was spewing every vulgar insult imaginable, from “bastard” to “son of a bitch.”

Watching Wang Cuihua’s contorted face—like she was constipated and frustrated at the same time—Jing Xi was thoroughly amused.

She let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Turning around, she glanced at the Dihuang she had planted earlier. To her surprise, the seedlings had already sprouted.

Forgetting about the ongoing drama, she quickly entered her space and examined the leaves of the Dihuang plants.

As she was carefully studying them, she suddenly felt something land on her head.

She shook it off and turned to look.

A piece of paper had fallen to the ground beside her.

It contained information about Dihuang and its medicinal properties.

The entire plant can be used medicinally. It is listed in ancient herbal texts as the authentic herb “Zelan.” It is an essential gynecological medicine, promoting menstruation and diuresis. It is effective for various pre- and postnatal conditions. The root, commonly known as “Di Sun,” is edible and is also an excellent remedy for traumatic swelling and toxic sores. It can also treat rheumatic joint pain.

Grass silkworm (Caoshi Can) is both food and medicine. Its properties are sweet and mild. It dispels wind, clears heat, promotes blood circulation, removes stasis, detoxifies, reduces swelling, nourishes the lungs and kidneys, replenishes yin and blood, and strengthens the body. It is used to treat colds, fevers, coughs, jaundice, asthma, pulmonary deficiency cough, kidney deficiency back pain, lymph node tuberculosis, pulmonary tuberculosis, hemoptysis, and more.

Also known as “snail herb,” it can be made into pickled vegetables, which are crisp and delicious—an excellent side dish to complement meals.

At the bottom of the paper, there was even a detailed recipe for making pickled Dihuang.

Jing Xi was stunned.

An idea immediately formed in her mind.

If the Long family refused to buy damaged Dihuang, she could purchase them from Aunt Liu and develop them into a tasty pickled product.

That could become a new source of income!

And if she used the spring water from her space to prepare it, the taste would be even better.